In recent years, many countries have committed to universal health coverage (UHC) as a national policy priority. Since public funds are the cornerstone of sustainable financing for UHC in most countries, the public financial management (PFM) system – the institutions, policies and processes that govern the use of public funds – plays a key role.
A strong PFM system can help budgets work better to sustain progress toward UHC: to ensure higher and more predictable budget allocations, reduced fragmentation in revenue streams and funding flows, timely budget execution, and better financial accountability and transparency.
“Aligning public financial management and heath financing: Sustaining progress toward Universal Health Coverage” outlines areas where the PFM system and PFM rules are crucial for the effective implementation of health financing policy in support of UHC and offers guidance for improving alignment. The paper draws on a vast stock of country experience and links to 14 different global resources on PFM and health financing.
The paper was commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) and jointly prepared by Results for Development (R4D) and WHO under the auspices of WHO’s Department of Health Systems Governance and Financing, Health Financing Unit. It is part of the Collaborative Agenda on Fiscal Space, Public Financial Management and Health Financing Policy.
